Watercooled Aquarium LED light also recaptures heat

This watercooled LED aqaurium light shows that DIY is often first to the scene when it comes to apply very simple concepts to accomplish very awesome things. An intrepid German aquarist took it upon himself to build this watercooled LED light for his planted aquarium using some very simple off the shelf components. Not only is the light watercooled but the heat from the LEDs is cooled using aquarium water, meaning that this light is not only very small and silent but it also reduces or negates the need for having an aquarium heater for much of the year. There has been some discussion of water cooled LED lights on Reef Builders before but this is the first time we have seen the idea built into an actual LED light. The aluminum used for this project is fine for use in freshwater but in saltwater it would quickly corrode producing lots of Aluminum Oxide that invertebrates really don’t care for too much. If we could just find a thermally active material that would resist corrosion in saltwater we could soon be seeing some lights like these produced for the aquarium world. Where there’s a will there’s a way and we can almost guarantee that we’ll be seeing some watercooled LED lights at next year’s ReefStock. Follow the break for many more pictures of this exciting project.

Each LED assembly has some makeshift reflector attached to direct the light downThe Ediline II power cob is fastened directly to the square aluminum tube with thermal tapeThe 24 watts of light from this LED is plenty enough to sustain a lush planted aquariumWater from the aquarium is pumped in one end and out the otherPipe insulation has been wrapped around the water cooled light in order to maximize the amount of heat that is transferred to the tankThe integrated pendant suspension of this light has lots of potential to be even mroe attractiveThe total wattage for this watercooled LED aquarium light is 28 watts: 24 watts to the LEDs and 4 watts are consumed by the driver and circuitry,

Jake Adams has been an avid marine aquarist since the mid 90s and has worked in the retail side of the marine aquarium trade for more than ten years. He has a bachelor’s degree in Marine Science and has been the managing editor of ReefBuilders.com since 2008. Jake is interested in every facet of the marine aquarium hobby from the concepts to the technology, rare fish to exotic corals, and his interests are well documented through a very prolific career of speaking to reef clubs and marine aquarium events, and writing articles for aquarium publications across the globe. His primary interest is in corals which Jake pursues in the aquarium hobby as well as diving the coral reefs of the world.